Data Protection and Future Changes in Healthcare Informatics - Research Paper Example

Information Technology has modified the healthcare sector to enhance efficiency, quality and safety. The contribution of information technology in healthcare is relatively low. However, there are indications via surveys that investors are gearing up for increasing their investments. Although, a major barrier for healthcare systems includes the cost and complex implementation that may triggers significant work and cultural modifications. Moreover, the input for healthcare systems consists of Electronic Health Records (EHR).

These records represent life history for patient’s health information produced by one or more encounters in any care delivery systems. Moreover, the electronic health facilitates doctors to extract medical life history at a glance, resulting in improved and fast response to medical treatment and medication for the patient. Information technology facilitate healthcare with instant access to rich information related to patients, on the other hand, protection of these electronic health records is utmost important.

Likewise, mismanagement of electronic health records can cause delay in treating a patient who needs urgent medication. Moreover, mismanagement of records can split records with one another resulting in wrong treatment of the patient. Furthermore, one more scenario includes a patient in an intensive care unit, where the doctor cannot find electronic health record due to some system failure. For countering these issues, data protection requirements and standards must be defined. Electronic health Records and Data Protection As discussed, electronic health architecture represents life history of a patient’s medical history.

In fact, it is an electronic version of the patient’s medical history and is updated by health care professionals as required. The electronic version also includes, all the primary administrative clinical data, pertinent to that patient’s care under a particular health care professional. In addition, the electronic health record includes demographics, progress notes, issues, vital signs, medications, immunizations, test reports, laboratory data and radiology reports (Overview electronic health records).

Moreover, a comprehensive idea related to its architectural requirements is available on ‘www.openehr.org’ stated as “a set of clinical and technical requirements for a record architecture that supports using, sharing, and exchanging electronic health records across different health sectors, different countries, and different models of healthcare delivery”. The definition represents the flow of these health records across the different geographical locations within the computerized network.

As the information flows on the network, there is always a probability related to security and data protection of these health records. Moreover, the program named as Advanced Informatics in Medicine (AIM) highlighted severe safety problems. Furthermore, the group was created for addressing the issues on the basis of Six Safety First Principles for medical informatics. Consequently, the findings were remarkable as previously no issues were highlighted with prime concerns (Lacoste,). For instance, the issues involve giving the wrong treatment to the patients, refuse to give the appropriate treatment, delay the treatment due to insufficient information etc.

These issues are of prime concern, as they can result in premature